Taking Control - What's Involved In Becoming a Judge

Almost everyone knows what a Judge is and what is involved in their role. In essence, a Judge is a lawyer who has a large body of general legal knowledge and experience. They are required to research and preside over court cases for both civil and criminal law. They are expected to keep order in the court and either make their own decision on a case using law, precedents and intellect, or advise and guide the jury for a particular case.

They need to ensure that evidence is given fairly and properly, they also need to try and ensure that jury is appropriate and that there is no affecting bias. Judges need to be up to date in their legal knowledge including precedents, cases and legal proceedings in other countries. This ensures that judges are continually learning and that their own judgements are fair and progressive.

Judges need to be prepared to work long hours, high level of maturity, honest and fair, respectable, able to deal with the media and media attention and they must be an Australian Citizen. They also need to have a very comprehensive understanding of the Law both Commonwealth and State specific. A Judge can specialise as a master, a magistrate or even the prestigious elevation to a High Court or Supreme Court Judge.

In order to become a judge one needs to have studied law at University. There are no TAFE courses that equate to the same qualification. This degree is usually obtained at a large university offering a Bachelor of Laws, often in conjunction with another degree to specialise or broaden the knowledge base. To go further on and become a judge, on needs to complete articles (in Victoria) and apply to be accepted to the bar. From this point a lawyer would need to practise for a number of years, usually a minimum of 10 and then be appointed by the Governor-in-Council as a Judge. It is not uncommon for the younger judges to be 40 years old.

Judges are generally highly paid and can earn in excess of $150K per annum. This is usually a result of the high entrance requirements to enter into a law degree, the high amount of study required, the small number of students who complete the degree and the long hours required to be successful in this area of law.

Start your career as a Lawyer or Judge with more information here.